I visited an antique store this past weekend and encountered this little gem and just had to buy it ($75). This thing is so cool. I appreciate the work it took to make it. The 'bullet' part was apparently machined from billet aluminum
The tag listed it simply as "Trench Art". While it is art, it is a very creative lighter. Most probably some vet who had machinist skills crafted this lighter from a brass shell and another mystery component. In my imagination this aluminum part appears to be the detonator/business end of a mortar or small bomb shell. Am I correct?
I am sure there are some ordinance experts on the forum that can also identify the shell, that only shows "L C 43" on the bottom.
Any help would be appreciated.
Lastly, yes, I just had to polish it. It was really cruddy.
